What caliber for a 9 year old

[Tbird]

My 9 year old might go deer hunting next year here in Pa. with the youth mentor program they started. what I'm trying to figure out what caliber would be good for a whitetail deer and not pound him when he shoots it. he will be shooting my Encore rifle.
I was thinking of .243 Win, 357 mag or 44 mag. I'm just worried about the recoil and don't want to scare him.

Thanks Scott

[PA-Joe]

Keeping shots under 50 yds 44 mag or 30-30  Do you reload. If yes then 243 or 7mm08 are good. You can downlaod them to 30-30 balistics.

[encore3006]

 

[hardertr]

It all depends on how much shooting experience he has.  If he hasn't shot anything but a 22 before....he'll flinch everytime he shoots something bigger.  9 is pretty young to start off with a "deer rifle".  WITH THAT SAID...I started with a Winchester 94 when i was 10, with no problems - I was a pretty "hefty" kid for my age though.

A buddy and I went to the range with his 2 boys, one 12 and one 9.  The little one flat out refused to shoot my 7-08.  When I changed to the 223 barrel, he wanted to shoot it all day long.  He shot it a couple more times, then we came up with the idea of showing him that the 7-08 and 223 bullets "were the same size".  He gave the 7-08 a try... and his dad bought "his son" an encore in 7-08 a week later.

Since you have a year to work with him, get him some experience with a 223 on the encore he will be using for deer season.  That will get him used to the noise and sound of a "real gun".  After that, the jump to a 243 or 7-08 won't seem so drastic.

My personal pick... after a little "experience", is the 7-08, because that round will ALWAYS do the job when it's called upon.

[Tbird]

He's been shooting his Ruger 10/22 since he was five and shoots my Browning buck mark 22 with no problem, but I have nothing else he could shoot in a rifle. my Ruger M77 in a 243 is to big of a gun for him to handle. I reload for the 243 win, 270 win, 35 whelen in rifle, and 9mm, 40 S&w, and 357 mag. so reloading would not be a problem. I was really thinking of a 357 mag.
His older brother got gun shy when he was ten years old shooting a Remington 870 youth model 20 ga. it took forever for him to get over that and now he shoots a 270 win. but will not pick up my 35 whelen, I don't blame him for not shooting that sholder buster out of a Remington 7600
I still need more help, I only can buy one barrel.

[encore3006]

 

[rebAL]

I'll second the 30/06 or similar in the "Managed recoil/ low load ammo now being offered.  As he grows, he can just step it up another notch with traditional & light magnum loads.  This way he can grow up with the same rifle and be able to harvest coyotes to grizzleys and everything in between.

[billy_56081]

  Select a caliber that you reload for and download it for practice. My daughter is recoil sensative so I downloaded her 30-30 win and she practiced all summer with it thinking it was just a little popgun. When she shot the full load at her bear she never noticed the difference. The result was one dead 200 lb black bear, one very happy girl. Oh by the way she shot it perfectly through the heart. Just little peices of the heart left.

[prc4816]

i shot a doe with a 7mm-08 this season, and i was a little worried how that particular round would do.  it was only a 75 yrd shot, but i dropped her in her tracks.  second off, ive been shooting accurately out to 300 yrds.  you may already know this, but a 7mm-08 is a necked down 308, but ive always been a firm believer in the 308.  my dad has an identical encore in a 308, and my 7mm-08 has a significantly less amount of recoil.  with a little bit of practice, and depending on how big of a kid he is, this may be the perfect round for him.  a 243 is also an excellent round, and i also know guys who give their son's 223's, me personally, i like the bigger bullet, but if your son is scared of the recoil, it may be a little big for him.  when i first started hunting, i used a 30-06, but it was a little too much gun for me at first, and led to accuracy problems. 

[Cheesehead]

Since you have 243 reloading components it would be a good choice. It could be down loaded to suit the young hunter and when he gets older the round could be loaded to hotter 243 specifications for a 200+ yard rifle. You could not do that with the 357 as easily.

Cheese

[Doc T]

If you don't reload, think about a 7.62x39 or the 300 Whisper.  The Whisper is one of my favorites in a rifle (Contender).  You can get factory ammo from Cor-Bon.  You can get both barrels from T/C's custom shop.  The 7-30 Waters would be a good choice as well.

[spinafish]

I would op for a 6.8 SPC..the mildest recoiling round I have ever fired that wasn't a rimfire.  Its extremely accurate and with the right bullets is excellent on whitetails.  There is nothing wrong with the .243 either.  I killed my first four deer with a Savage 111 in that caliber.  Hodgdon lists "youth" loads for the .243 that are even milder than factory rounds.

[catchone]

When my son began hunting, I gave him two single shots.  One was a 22LR and the other a 243 Win.  He was 8 years old then and is now 10.  He has killed several deer with the 243 and all dropped in their tracks.  He practices a lot with the 22 and it is cheap.  The two rifles are just alike except for caliber and the 22 barrel is shorter.  Every deer he has hit in the crease just behind the shoulder.  He has shot nothing but Remington 100gr core lokt soft point factory loads in the 243.  I do reload but the military has seen fit to keep me too busy to do any for the last little while.  I recommend the 243 very highly.  My son is tall and slim and is not recoil shy.   Just yesterday we went to the range and he put three shots in the bull at 100 yards.  Hope this helps with your decision.
KL

[Heavy C]

I introduced my daughter to centerfires with a 223 and then stepped up to my 6mm.  Basically a .243.  Since you have the reloading equipment go for the 243 and load up some light loads.  I took her deer hunting for the first time this year.  She shot two doe's at 150 yards.  She put both shots right in the boiler room.

[bigchuckie]

How bout a 260 Rem ? Same recoil as a 7-08 maybe a little less.

[MS10point]

My son started with an NEF Handi .243 @ 7 years old. I started with a 700 Rem. .243 when I was 9. My son moved to a model 7, 7mm-08 when he was 10. I love the 7-08, but in a lite rifle the recoil may be a little too violent for a first timer.There are many opinions and options available to you but I think the .260 or .243 would be ideal.


TP

[retrieverhunter]

Both my sons started hunting and killed their first deer with a NEF 223 when they were six, and I stepped both of them up to a full size Ruger M77RSI 243 at seven.  By nine, both of my boys were and still are shooting T/C Encore 270s with Limbsaver pads on the stock.  That being said, I spent a small fortune on ammo for range practice prior to taking my sons to a deer stand.  In my opinion, any caliber in the 243 to 7mm 08 range would be great with a Simms Limbsaver pad on the gun.  I am not a fan of down loading bullets and don't believe it would be necessary with these calibers and a Limbsaver pad.  My suggestion is to make sure that your son wants to hunt.  I pushed my oldest, and he has pretty much lost interest.  My youngest son, on the other hand, is eat up with hunting and is currently training his own Lab to hunt ducks with him.  These are my youngest son's bucks from this season. 

[FOX22250]

"T/C Encore 270s with Limbsaver pads on the stock."
this is a great choice you catnt go wrong with it.....